IMPORTANCE OF PROCESSES TO A COMPANY

INTRODUCTION

A company’s performance is influenced by a variety of factors as there are numerous activities performed to achieve business objectives. These activities form the core processes of the company’s business.

PROCESS CONTROL & MAPPING

The key to efficient management is to control all activities of business and channel them suitably to achieve business objectives in an efficient manner. This is popularly known as Business Process Control (BPC). The first step towards BPC is process mapping. Each process is studied carefully and documented to identify its significance and performance. Gaps are identified and suitable measures are taken for efficient functioning.

PROCESS METRICS

A company’s process is measured in terms of metrics. Some important metrics are
Efficiency – The process should make optimum use of resources to achieve its objectives. Inefficient processes lead to wastage of time and resources of a company.
Adaptability – The process should adapt easily to changes in business scenarios. Bottlenecks are common where process adaptability is low. Implementing change also becomes difficult.
Predictability – The process should have a clearly defined structure. This is useful to control various process components and optimize performance.
Goal-Orientation – It is important that the processes of a company are aligned to its business objectives.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT & AUTOMATION

It is important that a company’s processes are studied from time to time and improved to suit business needs and circumstances. Hence continuous improvement or Kaizen becomes an important part of the work culture.
Process improvements lead to smooth functioning, reduce errors and improve productivity of a company. In some cases it also reduces manual labor and overhead costs. This can be achieved through process automation.
Processes are also important to improve overall quality of a company performance. For example, good HR processes contribute to good work culture, appropriate talent acquisition, retention and employee satisfaction.

PROCESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Business Process Strategy is another important aspect of Business Process Management. It is important that the processes suit the type of activity or Business of the organization. Some businesses are better suited to rigid processes while others are suited to iterative or agile processes. This ensures smooth business operations and easy business process management along with optimum use of organizational resources like man, money and material.

INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE

It is important to ensure that the company’s processes comply with international standards like ISO. This contributes to international company and quality ratings ensuring good reputation in the field of operation. Some important standards are ISO9001, ISO27001 which are important milestones to achieve for every company. In fact, some high profile companies do not consider service providers who do not meet these criteria although they may be capable.

SOME IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES OF EFFICIENT PROCESSES

1. High quality
2. High credibility
3. Easy to manage
4. Prevents bottleneck and other operational glitches
5. Disaster management & Business continuity management is easy
6. High employee & customer satisfaction

CONCLUSION

Proper processes are essential to ensure company’s stability and performance. Kaizen is a practice by which processes are monitored and improved continuously. Hence it is of vital importance for companies to implement and follow Kaizen practices to have efficient processes